In the process of shipping an item from one location to another, a protective packaging material is typically placed in the shipping container to fill any voids and/or to cushion the item during the shipping process. Some commonly used protective packaging materials are plastic foam peanuts and plastic bubble wrap. While these conventional plastic materials seem to perform adequately as cushioning products, they are not without disadvantages. Perhaps the most serious drawback of plastic bubble wrap and/or plastic foam peanuts is their effect on our environment. Quite simply, these plastic packaging materials are not biodegradable and thus they cannot avoid further multiplying our planet's already critical waste disposal problems. The non-biodegradability of these packaging materials has become increasingly important in light of many industries adopting more progressive policies in terms of environmental responsibility.
The foregoing and other disadvantages of conventional plastic packaging materials have made paper protective packaging material a very popular alterative. Paper is biodegradable, recyclable and composed of a renewable resource; making it an environmentally responsible choice for conscientious companies.
While paper in sheet form could possibly be used as a protective packaging material, it is usually preferable to convert the sheets of paper into a relatively low density pad cushioning dunnage product. This conversion may be accomplished by a cushioning conversion machine, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,291, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,889 or European Patent Application No. 94440027.4. Such a cushioning conversion machine includes a frame having an upstream end and a downstream end, a stock supply assembly which supplies a continuous web of the sheet stock material, a conversion assembly which converts the sheet stock material into a continuous strip of a cushioning product, and a severing assembly which cuts the strip into sections of a desired length. The conversion assembly includes a folding or forming assembly which inwardly folds the lateral edges of the sheet stock material and a feed assembly which contacts a central section of the folded stock material. With particular reference to the machine disclosed in European Patent Application No. 94440027.4, the feed assembly crumples the folded portions of the stock material.
These earlier cushioning conversion machines produce a cushioning product having lateral pillow portions and a thinner central connecting portion. Such cushioning products are used to fill the voids between the item to be shipped and its container. However, in some packaging situations, a "flatter" cushioning product, or a product having less loft, may be more appropriate. For example, a "flatter" cushioning product may be more advantageous for placement between relatively flat items, such as plates and/or for the individual "surface wrapping" of articles such as fragile ornaments, glass hurricane lamps or the wooden legs on fine furniture. It would be desirable to have a flatter cushioning product with the flexibility to wrap around fragile and unusually shaped objects and which still functions to cushion and/or protect the object from damage.